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CRAP !CRAP! CRAP!

BigAl

BigAl

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I go and buy a boom lift . It works like a charm . Before I leave for Panama on my last trip , my nieghbor ask if he can use it while I am gone . Its pretty simple to operate . I come back and the nieghbor says he did not use it , but I find all the switches turned on . Yesterday , I plug it in to charge the batteries . I get ready to use it and hear a big bang . It came somewhere near the charger or batteries compartment . The lift will not do anything . Makes me wonder if nieghbor left the switches on and messed something up . One of these days I will learn not to loan stuff !!!

That lift is going to play a big part in the repair work I have to do around the house before I can leave . Now I get to fix it too .....:doh::sad:
 
T

Trakternut

Active member
If the batteries were drained dead, charging them produced that nasty explosive gas inside the compartment. You might have had a bad connection to a battery, or something else and when you tried to operate the lift it made an arc which set the gas off and blew up a battery. Open the compartment and look. If you see any wet stuff, make a strong solution of baking soda and warm water and wash things off. The soda neutralizes the acid so it doesn't eat stuff up. Be very careful as you look the batteries over. Chances are, you need to replace allllllllllllll the batteries to the tune of $80/pc.
That's about the only thing I can figure that might have gone "bang" in there.
 
BigAl

BigAl

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Trakternut said:
If the batteries were drained dead, charging them produced that nasty explosive gas inside the compartment. You might have had a bad connection to a battery, or something else and when you tried to operate the lift it made an arc which set the gas off and blew up a battery. Open the compartment and look. If you see any wet stuff, make a strong solution of baking soda and warm water and wash things off. The soda neutralizes the acid so it doesn't eat stuff up. Be very careful as you look the batteries over. Chances are, you need to replace allllllllllllll the batteries to the tune of $80/pc.
That's about the only thing I can figure that might have gone "bang" in there.
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Yep ! I am afraid you may be exactly right . There are 8 batteries and they cost a hella lot more than $80 a piece .I am trying the emergency backup system now .
 
fogtender

fogtender

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Trakternut hit it on the head, it may have also sufated the batteries so badly they had a dead short in them as well and when you plugged it in, the noise could have been a short burning out the charger.

Good luck...

Do you have kids around there that might have played with it?
 
JEV

JEV

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I make my living with my tools, and will gladly help out friends and neighbors with their projects, but I will not allow my equipment to be borrowed without my hands on them. Shit always happens when you loan stuff out. Murphy's Law.
 
T

Trakternut

Active member
JEV said:
I make my living with my tools, and will gladly help out friends and neighbors with their projects, but I will not allow my equipment to be borrowed without my hands on them. Shit always happens when you loan stuff out. Murphy's Law.
Click to expand...

I am very territorial about my tools and such. That's why I can still find 'em and they're not broke!:hammer:
 
tsaw

tsaw

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Working at a Stihl dealership... I find there are two types of situations that occur when stuff is borrowed.

1) The best situation; "I borrowed this chain saw from my neighbor - and I want it tuned up - and sharpened before i return it."

2) The most commen: "My neighbor borrowed my chain saw and now it won't start."

I can tell you from experience that in case #2 that is not a good neighbor. Most times the thing had raw gas in it.
 
Adillo303

Adillo303

Diesel Truck Fan
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JEV said:
I make my living with my tools, and will gladly help out friends and neighbors with their projects, but I will not allow my equipment to be borrowed without my hands on them. Shit always happens when you loan stuff out. Murphy's Law.
Click to expand...

+1 all the way.
 
BigAl

BigAl

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fogtender said:
Trakternut hit it on the head, it may have also sufated the batteries so badly they had a dead short in them as well and when you plugged it in, the noise could have been a short burning out the charger.

Good luck...

Do you have kids around there that might have played with it?
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Well it appears that you call it correctly . I believe the charger is toast as well as the batteries . No kids in the area :sad:
 
Snowtrac Nome

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
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i normaly don't borrow stuff because it's my policy to return it ready to use again or in better shape than when i recieved it. as things are around here most stuf is rode hard and put away wet so i usualy have to spend a couple of hundred dollars to borrow some thing so i normaly don't ask.
 
muleman

muleman

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I have one golden rule for my equipment and tools. If it costs over $500 it is not for loan. There are very few folks I even loan hand tools to. My one neighbor and I have a good mutual arrangement where one of us will buy something that the other does not have and we use them between us but nobody else. My BIL was pissed for months because I would not loan my backhoe to him. I went and did the work for him as it was on a steep hill and I knew he would roll it and I would be out $20,000 since he can't manage his finances at all. He also breaks every piece of equipment he has and does almost no maintenance on things.
 
tommu56

tommu56

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BigAl said:
Well it appears that you call it correctly . I believe the charger is toast as well as the batteries . No kids in the area :sad:
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The chargers dying happens at work a lot we found that people were letting the battery's die plugging it in and trying to run it off charger.

I added a relay to the control power if 110v is on it stopped all the functions from running at all there hasn't been any complaints yet and we haven't lost a charger in a year or so.

tom
 
BigAl

BigAl

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There may be hope!

Yesterday I did a few simple test and determine that the batteries seemed to be low and I was also concerned that the charger had quit functioning correctly . The connecter on the ends of the battery cables seemed a little loose to me too . I had the access lids open on the battery compartments so I could see better . I got distracted working on a plumbing leak in the garage and woke up to rain this morning . Then I remember I had left the doors open on the battery compartment . So , out the door I go ,to run and close them up .It is still dark outside . As I push the sliding battery tray back in the compartment , I can see a soft glow on top of one of the batterys by the clamp . It is direct shorting to the frame somewhere . I grab the main connecter and unplug the batteries and the glow dies out .

I think what may have happened is the cable is lightly touching the hold down bracket and completely drained the batteries . I believe the bang I heard was the built up gas in the compartment exploding when I turned on the charger . My nieghbor had left all the switches on and I wonder if that is what started my problems ????:unsure:
 
muleman

muleman

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You may also have a dead cell in that battery. Since you are planning on keeping it a good hygrometer may be a good purchase. Then you can tell the state of the batteries yourself. Sounds like a good time to pull all the cables off and start a good cleaning down to fresh lead and make sure you have good connections. You may be able to charge them individually with a separate charger if you have a good one.
 
BigAl

BigAl

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muleman said:
You may also have a dead cell in that battery. Since you are planning on keeping it a good hygrometer may be a good purchase. Then you can tell the state of the batteries yourself. Sounds like a good time to pull all the cables off and start a good cleaning down to fresh lead and make sure you have good connections. You may be able to charge them individually with a separate charger if you have a good one.
Click to expand...

Thats my plan too !:smile:
 
B

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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muleman said:
Since you are planning on keeping it a good hygrometer may be a good purchase.
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Poobah,

Bill has good intentions but I'd propose you get a hydrometer instead.

Not sure if testing the relative humidity (which is what a hygrometer does) of your cells is going to give you the answers you need.

:hide:
 
BigAl

BigAl

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bczoom said:
Poobah,

Bill has good intentions but I'd propose you get a hydrometer instead.

Not sure if testing the relative humidity (which is what a hygrometer does) of your cells is going to give you the answers you need.

:hide:
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Yes it will ???? I would want to know what the weather was going to do before I used the lift for painting the house .

Boomer .... You got to think outside the box !!!!
 
BigAl

BigAl

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Here's an update .
I went down and bought a battery checker and pulled acid from each cell of the batteries . They all all showing charged . I tried turning on the Lester Electical charger and the meter will not move on the 48 volt side and just a little bit on the 12 volt side . When I hit the switch in the platform to engage the electical all I hear is the contacts clicking . I still believe I may have a battery problem . Is there a way to by pass something to locate my problem ??? Charger ? Batteries ? Electric Motor ? Smoke came out of the battery / charger compartment when it first blew ,but I cannot find any burned areas or bad batteries ????
 
fogtender

fogtender

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Well as a drill, pull all the batteries out and clean the terminals. With a sudden shock of "whatever", the connections could have burnt to a point where power isn't passing by them. Wouldn't hurt once they are out to wash the outside of the Batteries with a baking soda solution and a brush to neutralize any battery acid that might be on the outside, don't get any down inside the battery. If you put a meter on the terminal and then to the battery case and find voltage, that is acid that has gotton outside causing spray current.

The terminals are the first easy step to do, then will tell you more stuff if that don't work. "KISS" (Keep It Simple Stupid) is how I trace things out....
 
BigAl

BigAl

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fogtender said:
Well as a drill, pull all the batteries out and clean the terminals. With a sudden shock of "whatever", the connections could have burnt to a point where power isn't passing by them. Wouldn't hurt once they are out to wash the outside of the Batteries with a baking soda solution and a brush to neutralize any battery acid that might be on the outside, don't get any down inside the battery. If you put a meter on the terminal and then to the battery case and find voltage, that is acid that has gotton outside causing spray current.

The terminals are the first easy step to do, then will tell you more stuff if that don't work. "KISS" (Keep It Simple Stupid) is how I trace things out....
Click to expand...

Trakternut said:
How about doing some sort of actual load check on each battery?
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Yep ! I know damn well its something to do with that charger or those batteries .
 
loboloco

loboloco

Well-known member
Al, if it gets too frustrating, stick some semtek under it and see if you can achieve orbital velocity.
 
fogtender

fogtender

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BigAl said:
Hey !!! At least the horn still works fine !!!:clap:
Click to expand...

Geeze, Well there you go! What are you whining about then!

But seriously, the terminals can be dirty and you won't get power down the pipe to the motor, on a car, it may cause you to appear to have a dead battery or enough power get though to where you solenoid just clicks...

Clean the terminals and then go from there.
 
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